As we enter the fifth month of our NGI collaboration this year, our focus remains clear: to make the vast constellation of NGI software not only reproducible, but discoverable, approachable, and ready to use - with Nix.
tl;dr
- We’re currently developing an end-to-end demo for NGIpkgs
- More packaging of sophisticated applications is ongoing
- Outreachy applicants are finalising their submissions, and selected interns will be announced on 2025-05-08
- The application period for the fifth edition of Summer of Nix is open until 2025-05-12
Project contributions & team updates
@erictapen redesigned the static site generation workflow and brought several visual and structural improvements to the project overview, getting closer to make it evident what you can do with a given software project already. For instance, you can now click through to service configuration options or demo instructions if they exist.
@eljamm navigated a high-intensity month coordinating the Outreachy contribution phase, reviewing and closing a significant number of tasks. He and a number of volunteers collected detailed information about software projects we’re supporting via the NGI0 Entrust and NGI0 Review funds (#173 and #185). This will ease breaking down and planning packaging tasks, so future contributors can focus on the technical challenges. He also refactored some of the monorepo code to make it easier to work with day to day.
@imincik designed a minimal shell environment to serve as an interface for demos of text-based programs (see the announcement of an independently usable prototype). He also helped the team to keep the backlog in check and distill fuzzy problems into actionable tasks.
@Erethon deployed a fully functional instance of CryptPad we needed for running a developer survey, and is also finalizing the setup of a Grist instance that will allow publishing real-time metrics about the program. He also represents us at NixOS infrastructure team meetings.
Together, @imincik @eljamm @erictapen @erethon experimented with different ways of installing Nix and getting NGI projects to run for demo purposes as quickly as possible. They came up with a way to run a demo in a virtual machine with very few lines of Nix code, displaying appropriate instructions on a project’s page, and automatically testing all of that (#614). The workflow is not complete yet, but will eventually enable new users to try out and customise applications packed for NixOS from their local environment, and then gradually grow accustomed to The Nix Way of doing things.
@OPNA2608 is currently focusing on contributing to Galene (#663), and Inventaire (#897), and has been investigating building Gradle from source.
Following the refinement of the curriculum for packagers (#199) led by @julienmalka, we also initiated improvements to our onboarding pathways. Our goal is to demystify the packaging process by mapping out all required skills and collecting existing learning materials. We want every newcomer to feel empowered to help themselves with confidence.
The team worked together on kicking off Summer Of Nix. We’re preparing to welcome a new cohort of contributors who will soon be rolling up their sleeves to build the packages, streamline services, and keep essential software alive and future-proof.
@fricklerhandwerk published a management report for the first quarter of 2025, which primarily revolves around planning and financials.
Your questions, answered
Have something to discuss? We have office hours every Tuesday and Thursday from 15:00 to 16:00 (Europe/Berlin time). If you’d like to connect, discuss something you’d like to work on, or bring up something else, you’re very welcome to drop in.
Join us in our public NGIpkgs Matrix room – ask questions, share your ideas, or just say hello.
All project details, ongoing discussions, and contributions are tracked on our GitHub project board.
The Nix@NGI team is part of a coordinated effort to support selected FOSS projects, by making them available as Nix packages or NixOS service modules.This work is funded by the European Commission’s Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative through the NLNet Foundation and the NixOS Foundation.